


Beautiful in My Eyes

by SaraS369



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Cassarian, Drabble Collection, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Redemption, Romance, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24064021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraS369/pseuds/SaraS369
Summary: Cassandra and Varian share a dance as old feelings and new feelings collide.(This may turn into a collection of one-shots)
Relationships: Cassandra/Varian (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey kid, you wanna dance?”

Varian looked up in surprise to see Cassandra smirking down at him. He had never, in all his preparation for this night, expected to be asked to dance by Cassandra. At the very least, he figured he would spend a few hours working up his courage and then, if she was in a good mood, try to ask her himself; though even then the thought of a harsh rejection was enough to scare him away. He had spent most of the evening watching the others dance, saying congratulations to Eugene and Rapunzel, and catching up with Angry and Red about how life with Lance was going.

Only a few days before Rapunzel and Eugene's first-anniversary celebration, Rapunzel, who had been bouncing off the walls, mentioned in passing that Cass was traveling back for the party and a brief visit. At the mention of Cassandra’s name, Varian’s heart did an odd roll in his chest. A confusing mixture of excitement, nervousness, and apprehension had stuck with him for the next few days and he struggled to make sense of them. The night of the party arrived and Varian found himself stressing far too much about how his formal attire looked. His usual leather gloves were traded for a sleek pair of black gloves given to him by Eugene and he had spent nearly an hour trying to arrange his mess of black hair only to finally give up. All throughout these preparations, the image of Cass kept appearing in the forefront of his mind only increasing his nerves and excitement. It had been over a year since she left, over a year since he’d last seen her. He had no idea what to expect. He didn’t even know if she would talk to him which is why he was surprised when she now stood over him asking rather directly if he wanted to dance with her.

“Well?” She tilted her head questioningly.

Varian’s heart fluttered in his chest as he finally got out a stammered, “I-I’d love to.”

“Great!” And before Varian could process what was happening, Cass had taken his hand and led him onto the crowded dance floor. He gingerly placed one hand around her waist and used the other to grasp her hand in his (He'd have to remember to thank Rapunzel again for her life-saving dance lessons). The song was a lively kingdom waltz. As they kept up with the moderate tempo, Varian was surprised to find that he was now slightly taller than her and could look her directly in the eyes; her piercing, grey-green, beautiful eyes…

The voice of Cass punctured his thoughts, “You’re quiet tonight.”

“I-It’s just been…awhile. And last time I saw you was when…well…you know.” Varian avoided her gaze.

Cassandra grew somber, “Hey, Varian, I’m sorry. For imprisoning you, attacking you, for everything. My time spent traveling has really helped me come to terms with everything that happened, and made me value the friends I still have here.” Cassandra looked him directly in the eyes, “You're one of those friends, Varian.” Cass shifted uncomfortably (still ill at ease with sharing her feelings) as she offered her next words, “I just hope you'll forgive me.”

Varian felt the heat rise in his cheeks at her statement, “Of course, I forgive you Cassie.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened slightly at the old nickname and Varian realized the slip. He began to fumble over an apology but Cassandra stopped him, “Don’t worry about it. I said you could call me Cassie, that still stands.” Varian gave her a smile of gratitude.

“And, Varian?” A smile slowly spread over Cass’s face in response to his, “Thanks."

Varian was suddenly aware of how the tempo of the song had slowed and they had unconsciously slowed with it. The candle-light of the ballroom gave Cass’s hair a soft, elegant glow. He noticed her hair had grown longer in the past months and she kept it tied in a loose braid over one shoulder. “Your hair looks nice.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. To Varian’s surprise, Cass received the compliment with an uncharacteristically soft “thanks.” In the dim lighting, he thought he noticed a light blush dusting Cassandra’s cheeks; maybe it was just his imagination.

A mirthful smirk pulled at Cass’s lips. Varian couldn’t help but smile with her, “What?”

Cass shrugged, “You’re being quiet again.”

“Guess I’m focusing,” Varian felt a little embarrassed, “Don’t want to step on your toes.”

“Varian, you’re a better dancer than half the guys here.” Cass chuckled, “Not that I’ve danced with many of them to begin with.” Varian ducked his head as the blood rushed into his cheeks at the compliment.

A comfortable silence fell as they let the sweet strain of violins fill the air between them. The mixture of dim candle-light and soft violins was teasingly romantic. Varian smiled softly at Cass as they revolved around the floor. It was hard to believe that not so long ago she had thrown him in a cage and had threatened to destroy all of Corona. Yet here she was, dancing with him of all people. How was this the same person? And then, he realized, that it wasn’t. Yes, Cassandra was still Cassandra, but she had changed so much. He had changed too. The dorky boy from a faintly-remembered science expo was gone. A wiser, young man had replaced him. While Varian still had his obsessive love of alchemy, he had matured and now possessed the wisdom that only comes with difficult experiences. He wondered if Cassandra could see the change. He hoped she would. With a final slow strain, the song came to an end.

“Um, Varian?”

Varian’s eyes were fixed on Cass with a glazed, faraway look, “Hmm?”

“The music stopped.”

Varian’s eyes widened when he realized that while the music had ended and they had stopped dancing, he had forgotten to let go of Cassandra. He quickly pulled his hands back in embarrassment, “S-sorry Cass.” He fumbled over his words, “I was d-distracted.”

“I noticed.” Cass's lips quirked upward in a smile that caused Varian’s heart to flutter in his chest. “So…” Cass took a step closer to him, “What’s distracting you?” Varian’s face was on fire and he had forgotten how to properly form words. Cassandra gave an amused eye-roll and decided to spare him, “Hey, thanks for the dance Varian. I enjoyed it.”

Varian pulled himself together to give what he hoped amounted to a confident replay, “The honor was all mine, milady.” He grabbed her hand and placed a light kiss on her fingertips. This time there was no mistaking the blush accenting Cassandra’s cheeks, “I’ll let you know if I’m in the mood for another dance.” Cass gave him a final smirk before heading in the direction of Rapunzel who was waving her down.

Varian watched her go, his brain still dazed from their dance, “It’d be my pleasure, Cassie.”


	2. The Last to Reconcile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know lots of people have written one-shots of Varian and Cass getting to say goodbye to each other before Cass heads out on her destiny-searching journey but I couldn't resist and had to write one myself. I just feel like after everything they went through Cass owed Varian a farewell.  
> Along with a healthy dose of fluff, of course. :) 
> 
> Also, a big thanks for the comments and kudos! I really appreciate it. <3

The memory of saying farewell to Eugene and Rapunzel was still fresh in her mind. While the goodbyes held sorrow in them, the feeling of reconciliation and saved friendships brought her a peace and joy strong enough to dispel whatever melancholy was brought with the farewells. However, she knew she couldn’t leave until she had come to terms with one more person. She took a steadying breath before knocking on one of the many guest bedrooms scattered about the castle. There was a long pause. She knocked again.

This time the door inched open.

Cassandra offered a half-smile, “Hey, Varian.”

Varian’s blue eyes widened as Cassandra was one of the last people he had expected to see when opening the door.

She smirked at his reaction, “Um, so can I come in?”

“Oh! R-right. Sorry.” Varian flung the door open allowing her into the guest room.

Cassandra entered glancing once around the room, “They gave you one of the nicer ones didn’t they. I remember it used to take me ages to clean this whenever we had important visitors staying.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed taking care not to sit on Quirin’s discarded cloak.

“Guess you won’t have to worry about that anymore.” Varian commented still standing at the other end of the room, “Rapunzel mentioned you were leaving.”

Cassandra almost looked amused, “She just can’t keep a secret can she?”

Varian gave a nervous chuckle. Cassandra felt something inside her break at the sound. It was painfully clear how uncomfortable he was around her. Though, after all she had done, he had every right to be. There was a prolonged moment of silence before Cassandra spoke quietly, “Varian, I’m here because you deserve an apology from me. Before I leave, I want to be on good terms with the people I’ve wronged.” She took a deep breath, “I’m sorry for hurting you.” Cassandra looked up hesitantly. Varian’s blue eyes had softened and he slowly drew nearer to her.

She hated spilling her feelings like this but she had to finish, “I’m not asking you to forgive me, I don’t deserve forgiveness, but if you could maybe…not hate me…”

“Cass,” Varian interrupted her as she trailed off, “I don’t know what you’ve been through but I know what it’s like to feel betrayed and to feel so angry that you hurt people you love.” Varian sat beside her tentatively, “I know that asking forgiveness is one of the hardest parts because, well…” Varian rubbed the back of his neck as memories of his past mistakes besieged him.

Cass finished his thought for him, “…because how could anyone forgive the terrible things you did.” She breathed out shakily as her fears rose to the surface. “How can anyone look at you and call you their ‘friend’ after you hurt them?”

“Don’t underestimate your friends, Cass. Especially Rapunzel. I know she forgives you.” Varian fixed Cass with a serious gaze, “And so do I.” His eyes never left her, “It’s hard to ask for that forgiveness from others but I know that the hardest person to get that forgiveness from is yourself.”

Cassandra was just as surprised as Varian when the tears fell from her cheeks.

“We all make mistakes, some bigger than others, but we all make the wrong choice sometimes and the first step towards making the right choice is admitting you were wrong and forgiving yourself. Cass, you are _so_ much more than your past mistakes.”

Cass lifted a gloved hand to smear the tears on her cheeks. She gave a light chuckle, “When did you get so wise?”

Varian awkwardly scratched the back his neck, “I guess I’ve just made lots of mistakes.”

Cass glanced at Varian and placed her hands on his shoulders, “Thank you, Varian. For everything.” She pulled him into a tight hug. At first, his body went rigid in surprise, but he quickly relaxed and returned the embrace. As Cassandra pulled back, she couldn’t hide her amused smile at the rapidly spreading blush staining Varian’s cheeks.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, kid.” Cassandra stood to leave.

“Wait. Cass?” Varian stood too, his hand taking hold of her wrist. “All this time...y-you kept it?”

Cassandra followed his gaze to the string of blue beads with a violet-colored stone as its centerpiece that hung around her neck. “Of course, I kept it. It’s a good reminder that there are people here who care about me.”

A wide grin spread across Varian’s face, “I always thought the element suited you. You’re kind of like the hard sand on the outside but on the inside, after going through tons of friction, the end product is even more beautiful than the sand it started as.”

It was Cassandra’s turn to be taken aback. She even felt the telltale signs of heat rushing into her cheeks as she stared into the eyes of the young alchemist who had put more thought into the necklace she wore than had ever crossed her mind. And he was right. Despite the trails, the mistakes, the hurt, the brokenness, she had come through it all and was only stronger because of it. All Cass could bring herself to say was a simple, “Thanks, Varian.” Then, as an afterthought and before she could stop herself, she leaned down (she didn’t have to lean far as Varian had grown almost a foot taller in the past months) and kissed him on the cheek.

The blush on Varian’s cheeks deepened to a dark red and he stared at Cass with an odd glassy look in his eyes, utterly lost for words.

“See you around, Varian.” Cassandra smiled stepping towards the door. 

Varian snapped out of his trance just in time to shout a last farewell, “Bye, Cassie!”

Cassandra smiled to herself all the way down to the stables. She knew she would be back. There was no way she could leave her friends and Corona forever. While she was filled with anticipation at the thought of journeying to find her own destiny, a thought flitted through her mind. Maybe she wasn’t meant to find her destiny alone. She pondered this as she mounted Fidela. The only conclusion she seemed to come to was that her path, no matter the distance, would eventually lead her back to Corona.

As Cassandra rode across the bridge towards the vast horizon, she couldn’t stop thinking how pleasant the nickname " _Cassie"_ sounded and she whispered it to herself as she idly fingered the gleaming purple stone around her neck. 


	3. Forgiveness Behind Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short imagining of Varian receiving the help he should have gotten after being thrown in prison at the end of S1. Cause, I think we can all agree, the boy deserved better.  
> The perfect mixture of angst with a dash of fluff.

How did he get here? How in the world did he get _here_?

This was the question currently playing on repeat in Varian’s head as he sat on the cold floor of his jail cell. A jail cell…his brain was still struggling to catch up with the current location of his body.

He had never been in a jail cell before but this one lived up to the clichés often attributed to such places; cold, damp, a healthy growth of mold, and the occasional appearance of a rat. Just charming. Both his wrists were secured inside iron cuffs which in turn were bolted to the floor. They had locked him up like a monster. Was he a monster? He had certainly never wanted to be. One action had led to another and before he knew it he had slipped so far down a slope of mistakes that he had lost sight of himself. And maybe that did make him a monster. He had done it all for his father, at least that's how it had started. By the end, his mind had been so clouded with rage that getting revenge had taken priority. Another mistake to add to his ever-growing list. 

The thought of his dad encased in the golden amber and his own inability to fix anything made tears sting behind his closed eyes. It was all his fault. His dad was likely to die trapped in the amber, and everyone hated him by now for kidnapping the queen and putting so many others in harm’s way. They had hurt him too of course but it was nothing compared to the damage he had done. Slowly he submitted to despair. 

Maybe there was some justice in his prison bars. At least this way he couldn't hurt anyone else.

The faint sound of footsteps echoed in the vast dungeon. The footsteps stopped in front of his cell and, it was only when the door swung open, did Varian open his eyes. Cassandra stood in front of him, her combat outfit still torn in places from the fight the night before. A fresh wave of guilt surged through Varian as he remembered grabbing her with his automaton in his reckless attempt at revenge. He couldn’t meet her eyes.

Cassandra knelt down and, without a word, started removing the cuffs from around his wrists. They clattered to the floor. Even with his chains gone, Varian felt more trapped than ever. Cassandra remained kneeling in front of him allowing the silence to encompass them. The air between them was tense as Varian realized that she was waiting for him to speak. 

He knew what he wanted to say and his chest hurt as he tried to ignore his emotions. Finally, the words Varian had been trying to bite back escaped from him, “I’m so…so sorry for hurting you. For hurting everyone.” He murmured still unable to look up at her. There was a long pause and Varian thought she was going to leave without replying. He wouldn’t be surprised if she did. After everything that had happened, he wouldn't blame her if she hated him. Instead, without a single word to acknowledge what he’d just said, Cassandra moved forward and pulled Varian into a tight hug. He was shocked and sat limply before registering what was happening. Then he slowly lifted his arms and returned the hug. The tears he was holding back before came spilling out as he clung to Cassandra. 

In that moment she anchored him to a reality he barely knew existed. A reality where he wasn't despised or hated. A reality where he wasn't a monster. 

“I’m sorry about your dad, Varian.” She spoke softly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t help him. And I’m sorry that we hurt you; that we weren't there for you when you needed us.” Varian felt a sob escape him as his deeply concealed emotions came pouring out. He didn’t deserve to be forgiven like this. After everything he’d done, he didn’t deserve to be hugged or spoken kindly too.

After what felt like a lifetime, Varian’s tears slowed and he pulled back. He met Cassandra's eyes and was struck by the sincerity he found there, “We want to help you, Varian,” Cassandra placed a hand on his shoulder, “you just have to let us. And even then, we’re still going to mess up and we won’t get everything perfect, but we’ll keep trying. That’s what friends do.”

Varian nodded slowly. The word "friends" coursed through him like a shock-wave. After everything that had happened, he still had friends. There was so much hope grounded in that simple word. He wiped a hand over his eyes.

“Do I even get a ‘thank you?’” Cassandra smirked, her voice a bit more light-hearted, “It’s not like I go around handing out hugs to just anybody.”

The first real smile in weeks pulled at the corner of Varian’s lips, “Thanks, Cassandra.”

“Remember kid, it’s Cassie.” Cassandra stepped into the hallway, regretfully locking the cell behind her, “I’ll get you out of here soon. Just told tight.” She gave him a final, reassuring smile before striding off down the corridor. 

As he watched her walk away, Varian felt the first signs of hope swell in his chest. He would do whatever he could to make it up to his friends; especially Cassandra. The prison bars didn't feel so confining anymore. He whispered a heartfelt, “Thank you, Cassie” as he sat and marveled at the power of forgiveness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE thanks for all the kudos and comments! It means a lot to me. Y'all are the best. <3


End file.
